The Prince

Part 3

By the end of the week, it felt like a bus had hit Skye, as he staggered through his heavy workload. As it was, he was spending all his free time behind his books, but it wasn't as if he had anything else to do. He sighed when he heard his name called.

Sitting down at the kitchen table, he curiously watched as Jackson stirred something in a pot, before taking it over to the table.

"What's that?" Skye asked, slightly revolted at the gooey, gelatinous mess that was steaming on the plate in front of him. He was too scared to poke at it, in case it poked back.

"It's you're Papa's famous mac and cheese, course. Come on, take a bite and tell me if it's like his." He looked expectantly at Skye.

"Dad, this doesn't look like anything you could or should eat."

"Don't be mean. I spent the whole afternoon working on that, so you're going to eat it." Jackson put on a frowning face.

With a sigh, Skye picked up his fork with some trepidation. It really looked like a mass from outer space or something that an alley cat vomited out on the street. Taking a deep breath, hoping that not being able to smell it would make it taste less disgusting than it looked.

"Oh Dad, gross! My god, what did you put in there, the essence of death?" He immediately grabbed his glass of water to wash the taste and feel of that warm, slimy mess.

"I take it that it's not like your Dad's." He looked a bit down at Skye's reaction.

"No, it doesn't, but I appreciate you trying." Skye tried to make him feel better. He felt sorry for his Dad.
"It's only been two months Pappie, he'll be back soon, remember?" It felt like he was consoling a child. He had to smile at the thought, usually, Raymond would be filling that spot.

"I know," Jackson sighed, removing the pot and plate from the table. "I just hate not knowing what's going on and your grandfather's been avoiding me."

"Dad, did you go to their offices again? We've talked about this, Papa told us not to when he's working." He ruefully shook his head again, when did he become a dad?

"Okay, okay, I wanted a straight answer, that's all." He defended himself.

"I know Pappie, but he'll be back son. What do you say to getting some take-out and watch a movie, like old times." He tried to distract his father. He was usually so carefree, relaxed and his unique self. There was no better word to describe his father than unique. At times he thought that the world should be grateful that there was only one of him, but he was always fun to be around.

"Really?" Jackson immediately perked up. "Father and son movie nights are back on!" He cheered, grabbing his phone from the counter to order food.

"I didn't say that. Dad, come on, I meant this is a one-time thing... Dad, are you listening?" Skye knew that he'd walked right into his father's trap. There was no way he was going to get out of father and son movie nights now, it would be like stopping a bulldozer. His Dad had better come home soon.

Jackson was in a much better mood once they were sitting in front of the TV eating. After a rough summer, he was glad to have his son back and almost his usual self. It wasn't easy with Raymond being away for so long, his absence upset the balance in the house. Raymond was the strict parent who'd lay down the law, he could never say no to Skye, which made him an easy target, he had to admit.

He'd been trying to get Skye to go out all summer, but besides working at the bakery, he never went anywhere. It had been a struggle to get him to go anywhere near the rest of the family and if they didn't force themselves on him, he didn't think that Skye would have bothered to visit them at all. Having Raymond away, made him feel inadequate as a parent, which was a feeling he didn't care for much.

--

The next morning Skye sat down at the breakfast table, opposite Jackson who was glued to his tablet. The moment he saw Skye, his face lit up and he stopped reading.

"So, what are our plans for the day?"

"Well, my plans are school, bakery and then homework. Maybe I can squeeze a shower in there if I'm lucky," he joked.

"You have your father's sense of humour," he sourly retorted. "At least you got my brains."

"I don't think that's how it works Dad, but it's good to know." It looked like his dad was starting to lose the plot.

"Well, I'm going to be at the bakery this morning and might stop by the office on my way back, thank you for asking."

"So today is a work day?" He looked up from his cereal.

"Well, somebody has to bring in the bacon since your Dad isn't here," his grin was back in place. "Come on, I'll take you to school on my way out.

Skye hesitated. He didn't really want Jackson to take him to school. He always caused a fuss that inevitably ended in him being the centre of attention, while his groupies swooned. After a moment he gave in and nodded, soliciting a tight hug from Jackson before he rushed out of the kitchen.

He was always so easy to read, he smiled, watching Jackson leave. If he'd said no, then his dad would have been moping for days, annoying the hell out of him. Being alone with him for the summer had taught him to appreciate Jackson more and the peace and quiet when he wasn't around.

He didn't prod or push, he was just always around. Even if he did drive you crazy, everything he did was out of love. He appreciated that he was given the space to be by himself and logically understood what Jackson was trying to do by forcing him out, but it was still a pain.